On the Road Again
by chels48
Summary: Rory and Jess set out for a cross country trip. Will they be able to make it without killing each other first? Luke and Lorelai will most likely take a part in it as well. Please R&R! ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: Checklists and Car Hoods

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, I just own my mind.

A/N: I don't know if this has already been done. If it has, sorry. I'm sure it won't be the same though. This chapter is kind of short, the next one's will be longer and more exciting. I promise. Please R&R because reviews make the writer's world go round.

Chapter One: Checklists and Car Hoods

Following her daughter down the stairs, dragging a suitcase that could easily fit three years worth of clothing behind her, Lorelai called out the checklist one last time. "Ok, clothes?"

"You do realize we've gone over this list eleven and a half times already, don't you?" Rory replied, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Yes. And it would have been twelve if you hadn't locked me in my room for half an hour."

"I'm sorry, but you left me with no choice. Did you really expect me to sit here and watch you burn down the house while you attempt making portable macaroni and cheese for me to take with me on the road?"

"Are you saying you don't want portable macaroni and cheese made with love by your dear mother whom you are leaving for the entire summer to gallivant all over the country with a boy who I'm not particularly comfortable with?"

"Yes."

"Ok then, as long as we made that clear. Now please, humor me as I go through this list one last time. Clothes?"

Sighing, Rory grudgingly replied, "Check."

"Toothbrush?"

"Check."

"Shoes?"

"Check."

"All toiletries that would make you die of embarrassment if I was to actually call them out by name?"

"Check."

"Books?"

"I think this is an appropriate time for a 'Duh' don't you think?"

"Just checking. Oh! What about bottled water? Did you pack any bottled water?"

"No, but I'm sure me and Jess will pick some up on the way."

"Ok. Now are you sure you really want to do this?"

"For the hundredth time, yes. I'm sure I want to do this," Seeing the doubtful look on her mother's face she added, "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She offered a smile and a reassuring hug and together they set off for Luke's.

As Luke slammed the hood of Jess's piece of junk car shut for the last time, he looked up and saw the two Gilmore girls slowly making their way down the street. Being dragged behind them was the biggest suitcase Luke had ever seen. He instantly rushed to their side, picked up the suitcase with ease, and carried it back to the diner without saying a word, leaving them astonished.

"How does he do that?" Lorelai questioned, a hint of admiration in her voice.

The two girls made their way to the diner and upon entering found Luke and Jess in their usual form of communication: Luke yelling and Jess making sarcastic comments.

"You better be sure you have enough money," Luke informed Jess.

"You know actually, I don't think I do. But no worries, I can always stand on a street corner and play the harmonica for some spare change. I've been told I have a great singing voice too. Heck, I'll be a one man band! I'll have the crowds eating out of the palm of my hand. But don't worry, I'll be sure to call you when I make it big."

Jumping right into his bit Rory added with a smile on her face, "I can tap dance."

Luke looked at Rory and smiled. "Are you sure you actually want to spend two months traveling across the country in a tiny car with this guy?"

Rory smiled back at him and replied, "I'm positive."

"Well you guys better get going before it gets dark," Lorelai jumped in, wanting to get the goodbyes done quickly. When they got outside, Lorelai tried hard to swallow the tears that were starting to form behind her strikingly blue eyes. "Remember to call, ok?"

"I will, mom."

"And be careful."

"I will, mom."

"And remember to…"

Cutting her off before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Rory said matter-of-factly, "Mom, I'm a big girl. I know how to take care of myself, ok? Don't worry. Me and Jess will be fine. I love you."

The mother and daughter shared a hug and a secret smile. "I love you too, kid."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, I guess this is it," Luke said, trying not to sound too emotional.

"Aw, geez Luke, you're not gonna get all sappy on me, are you?" Jess replied with that patented smirk on his face. "I'll see you in a few months, ok?"

"You know, you can call sometime too if you want," Was his not-so-subtle reply.

Jess nodded his head and stuck out his hand. Luke took it and then pulled him into a fatherly embrace. "I'll see you around. Try to stay out of trouble."

"I'll do my best." He turned to Rory who was wrapped up in one of those random conversations her and her mother were so famous for. "You ready?"

Looking a little nervous, but excited all the same she said, "Yeah, let's go." She gave her mom one last hug, waved to Luke, and jumped in the car. Jess gave a casual wave to both of them as he started the car and drove off, leaving two worried adults behind.

Lorelai groaned as she watched them drive off.

"Coffee?" Luke asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Absolutely."


	2. Chapter 2: Bells

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, Monday Night Football, or Miller Light. I only own my mind. (Well, most of the time anyway)

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm really not very experienced in writing this kind of thing, I usually just write scripts, but I'm glad you like it. Iforgot to mention last time that this takes place after Season 3. Jess never went to California, but he definitely thought about it. Rory and Jess have been having some problems so they decided to take this trip together to help smooth things out. Please R&R because reviews make the writer's world go round. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Chapter Two: Bells

The windows were rolled down and the radio was blasting as they sped down the interstate towards their unknown destination. She had her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her hair was blowing wildly around her head and she had her face hidden in a huge map. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Nope," he replied with one hand on the steering wheel and the other searching the radio for a station that played something other than Top 40 and country music.

"Well don't you think you should be at all concerned about the fact that we don't know where we're going?" She asked with a look of concern coming across her face.

"Nope."

Growing exasperated at his one word answers, she said with a hint of aggravation in her voice, "Jess, we have to have a plan."

"No we don't."

"Yes we do. We can't just drive around for two months. We have to know where we're going or else the only thing we'll see on this trip is truck stop cafés and 24 hour gas stations."

"Hey, some of those places have great burgers and I'm sure we can find one of those little mechanical ponies you can ride for 25 cents to keep you occupied," he turned to look at her, loving the way she furrowed her brow when she gets annoyed.

"Jess, come on."

Sighing, he reluctantly gave in. "Ok, fine. What dorky tourist attraction would you like me to drive to first? Please say it's the world's largest ball of lint because if I see that, I can die happy."

In spite of herself, she felt a smile start to creep across her face. "Now that you mention it, that might be a pretty interesting thing to see. But to tell the truth, my heart's set on the world's largest rubber band ball. I mean all those rubber bands all strapped together. How do they do it?"

"Must be one of those medical marvels; like women who have eight kids at a time and men who have four testicles." He laughed as he saw her cheeks start to color at the sound of such a word as testicle.

A few moments of silence passed between them before Rory said once again, "Ok, seriously. What's our plan?"

Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, he replied, "Honestly, I could care less. We can go wherever we want and do whatever we want. It doesn't matter how or when we get there. Just tell me where to turn."

"So if I tell you I want to drive to Tennessee to see Graceland just because I know how much you hate Elvis, you would drive there?"

He turned his head to look at her and saw she was wearing a devilish grin. "Evil girl."

She smiled at him and started to fold up the map. "Ok, why don't we make a compromise? Half of the trip can be an unplanned, impromptu, live by the seat of your pants kind of thing like you want, and the other half can be planned like I want. Deal?"

He looked at her for a minute, stuck out his hand for her to shake and said, "Deal," and as an afterthought, he added, "As long as we get to do my way first."

Sighing, she shook her head at him and said, "You're impossible."

_-xxxxx-_

Lorelai didn't know what to do with herself. The house was too quiet and too big. She was lonely. She considered calling Sookie, but decided against it, knowing her best friend would want to enjoy her day off with Jackson. She tried to watch TV, but her mind kept wandering back to Rory and whether or not she was safe. Deciding coffee was the only way to calm her nerves, she pulled on a pair of old tennis shoes and a grungy pair of jeans and walked to Luke's.

As she walked through the door, the familiar sound of the tinkling bells that hung on the door knob announced her arrival. She found the diner strangely empty. Not even Luke was in his usual stance behind the counter.

"Luke?" She called as she walked behind the counter and up the stairs to his little apartment. "Luke, are you here?" She stopped at the door and knocked. When no one answered, she decided to barge right in, but to her surprise, the door was locked. "Well that's weird," she muttered to herself as she walked back downstairs.

Getting ready to make her way back home, she stopped when she saw a note on the counter. _Lorelai, _it read, _I had to go to Hartford for a few hours. I made a pot of coffee for you. It should still be hot. See you later. –Luke_

Lorelai smiled to herself, loving how he seemed to know her so well and glad to have a friend like him. She caught site of the coffee he had made for her and wasted no time in pouring herself a cup, filling it to the top.

_-xxxxx-_

They drove for a long time, stopping only once to stock up on junk food and bottled water. Rory tried to stay awake so Jess would have some company, but she soon fell victim to her heavy eyelids. Watching her sleep was like torture for him. She had her legs curled up underneath her and her head was leaning against his shoulder. Her hair had fallen in front of her eyes and Jess softly brushed it behind her ear, trying not to wake her up. Being this close to her was hard for him. He knew things had been strange between them lately and he didn't want to hurt her again. He forced his eyes to stay glued to the road; he didn't trust himself to look anywhere but there.

The sun had gone down a long time ago, leaving the air cool and damp, promising a summer thunderstorm in the near future. He drove until he felt like he couldn't keep his eyes open for another minute. Pulling off on the nearest exit and into the parking lot of the first blinking, neon vacancy sign he saw, he half heartedly tried to wake her up.

"Rory, wake up," he whispered softly in her ear.

"Mm, five more minutes," she replied, her words muffled and slurred by her sleepiness.

"Come on, there's a nice warm bed that 50 other people have slept in waiting for you in that building right there," he tried to persuade her.

"I'm pretty happy right here, thank you."

Jess smiled at the stubbornness she had even in her sleep. "I bet there's coffee too."

Rory popped her eyes open at the mention of coffee and said with a smile on her face, "Screw the car, let's go!"

He laughed as he watched her clumsily get out of the car, trying to put her shoes on as she went. He followed her, a bit more gracefully, into the little motel.

They entered what looked like a utility closet trying to be passed off as a lobby and silently waited for someone to give them a room. After several minutes passed and still no one appeared, they looked at each other questioningly.

"Hello?" Jess called to the empty room, hearing his voice echo off the badly papered walls.

Glancing around the room, Rory's eyes fell on a little brass bell that was hanging from the ceiling. Pointing it out to Jess she told him, "I think you have to ring the bell." They walked side by side to the little bell on the other side of the room. "I love ringing bells," she admitted with a goofy grin on her face.

Doing his best not to smirk at her childish fetish, he gestured to the bells and told her, "You want to do the honors?"

"Absolutely." She reached her hand out to give a gentle tug on the bells, but was interrupted by a tired and gruff sounding voice behind her.

"Can I help you?"

They both jumped at the sound of his voice. Turning around, they saw a man that seemed to be in his late forties. He was balding, although he tried to hide it with a horrible comb over and had a beer gut that was sure to have come from many nights of watching Monday Night Football, eating cheese dip, and drinking a six pack of Miller Light with his buddies.

Trying to get her heart to slow down to a normal rate Rory said timidly, "Um, yeah. Actually we need a room. Well, obviously we need a room, why else would we be at a motel in the middle of the night if we didn't need of room. Unless, of course, you don't have any rooms available. In that case, we can just find another place," seeing the amused look on the man's face she stopped her rambling and cut to the chase. "So, do you have a room?"

"Yeah, sure, we got plenty of em'. How long you need it for?"

Jumping in, Jess told the guy, "Just tonight."

"Two beds or one?"

Stealing a glance at Rory, he quickly replied, "Two."

"Ok, you can have room 12. The cash register stops working after midnight so you can pay in the morning," Reaching under the desk, he pulled out a silver key and handed it to Rory. "The room's outside and to the left. Best room in the place; right next to the vending machines."

"Well, I feel special, don't you Rory?" Jess asked with a fake smile on his face.

Deciding to ignore his remark, she smiled at the man and said, "Thanks," as she pulled Jess outside.

"Room 12, room 12," he muttered to himself as they walked down the poorly paved sidewalk leading the way to their room. "Here we go, room 12." He slid the key into the lock and twisted it to the right, causing the door to swing open.

They stepped inside and took a look around. It was simple enough: two twin beds; a bedside table holding a phone, phonebook, and bible; a little table and chair in one corner; and a bathroom. There was a counter on the far end of the room. It was cluttered with complimentary shampoo and conditioner, a sink, some glasses, and…"A coffee maker! Thank God!" Rory was elated to find the simple appliance. She immediately opened the bag of instant coffee that was lying next to the maker and dumped it into the machine.

"You're going to have coffee now?" Jess asked, looking at his watch.

"Uh yeah, why?"

"It's three o' clock in the morning for one thing. Won't coffee make you not want to sleep?"

"I," she replied, "have already fulfilled my sleeping needs. Therefore I can drink all the coffee I want and not have any consequences."

He watched her as she watched the coffee slowly drip into the pot. "Well, I'm going to sleep."

"Go ahead, I don't mind. I can drink my coffee in the dark."

He went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, walking out a few minutes later wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Rory watched him out of the corner of her eye, admiring his strong physique. He pulled down the sheets and climbed into the bed, letting himself sink into the soft mattress beneath him. Turning off the light, he said, "Goodnight."

"Night'," she whispered softly from the chair across the room, keeping a safe distance between them.

A/N: Sorry if there wereany mistakes. I wrote this pretty late at night so I probably wasn't very careful with grammer and spelling. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. Again, please R&R. : )


	3. Chapter 3: Thank God for Thunder

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, Kit Kat, or Hello Kitty. I only own my mind.

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. I know my writing isn't great, so I appreciate you bearing with me while I work out the kinks. Since it's summer vacation and I love to write, I'm going to try to write a chapter a day, at least for a while. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Please R&R because reviews make the writer's world go round: )

Chapter Three: Thank God for Thunder

The thunder that had been rolling in the distance was growing steadily louder by the minute. Rory sat in the same chair by the wall, silently sipping her coffee and trying to ignore it. She knew Jess was still wide awake. He was just pretending to be asleep. She knew this because every time the lightning flashed, it lit up the room enough for her to see him just lying there on his back, with his eyes closed. Nobody could possibly sleep that still.

He knew he should sleep, but his mind wouldn't allow him to. It was racing with thoughts about her. Every now and then he would steal a look at her. He could faintly see her outline sitting in the chair with her cup of coffee. She was fidgeting, trying to find a comfortable position and her eyes were glued to the window.

Ever since she could remember, Rory had loved rainstorms. She loved the way they made the air smell, and how it made everything seem cleaner somehow after the raindrops had stopped falling from the sky. But thunder was another thing entirely. She thought it was loud and obnoxious, and a bit scary as well. She knew it was a childish fear to have, but she couldn't help it. Every time light flashed through the sky, she waited and counted the seconds until the thunder rolled. The storm seemed to be getting closer; too close for Rory's taste.

He opened his eyes to take another look at her and was surprised to see that she was standing up and walking towards him. She reached the side of his bed and silently slipped under the covers and pulled herself close to him. He looked at her, asking her with his eyes.

"I hate thunder," was her only explanation.

She laid her head down on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He remembered thinking how well she seemed to fit to his body as he finally drifted off to sleep. Together, they slept until late the next morning.

_-xxxxx-_

It was early in Stars Hollow, very early. According to the Hello Kitty alarm clock sitting on top of Lorelai's cluttered bedside table, it was exactly 4:27 in the morning. She hadn't been able to sleep. All she kept thinking was, _Rory didn't call. Rory didn't call. Why didn't she call? She was supposed to call! I would call her, but of course, her cell phone's off. Why is her cell phone off? Why didn't she call?_

Knowing sleep was a battle she was going to lose, she got up and went to take a shower thinking the warm water might be able to calm her down. Unfortunately, it didn't work. _Maybe she just forgot…no, Rory wouldn't forget something like that. Would she? I don't think she would unless something happened and now she can't call me. Oh my God, she's pregnant! She's pregnant! She had sex with Jess and now she's pregnant and she's too afraid to call home. Stop, Lorelai! She's not pregnant, that's crazy. So why didn't she call?_

She stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself off with a soft towel. Not bothering to dry her hair, she threw on the jeans that had been lying on the bathroom floor and a tank top and flew downstairs. Forgetting to grab her keys and her purse, she raced out the door and to Luke's. She reached the door to the diner in less than five minutes, very out of breath, her hair in wet tangles. She started banging on the door, hoping Luke would hear it and come down to let her in.

"Luke!" she called through the glass in the door. She sighed with relief as she saw Luke descend down the stairs and walk over to the door. He unlocked it and let her in, looking at her like she was crazy.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a bit grumpy from being woken up an hour early.

"She didn't call!" was her shaky reply.

"What? Who didn't call?" Luke asked, his voice starting to soften.

"Rory! My daughter! Otherwise known as the dependable one! She didn't call!" she was on the verge of tears now, and very close to hysteria.

"Ok, calm down. I'll make you some coffee, ok?" he said as he pulled her to the counter and forced her to sit down.

"Why didn't she call, Luke?"

"Maybe her cell phone didn't have a signal and she wasn't able to call," he tried to rationalize with her.

"Oh, and Superman has the only working phone booth left in America hidden in his closet?" she retorted.

"Ok, then, maybe she didn't get a chance to call."

"You mean she didn't get a chance to call between the sitting in the car doing nothing while Jess drives and the sitting in the car doing nothing as Jess gets gas?"

Desperate to find an answer that would calm her down he tried again, "Maybe she just forgot. It happens, you know."

Sighing, she said, "I don't know, maybe. I don't know why I'm so freaked about this whole trip. I mean, Rory's smart, right? She wouldn't do anything stupid. And Jess…well, he's Jess. And even though he's not the most reliable guy in the world, lately he's been trying."

Deciding it was probably best to let her work this out on her own, Luke stayed quiet.

"I'm sure she's fine. She'll call later for sure," seeing Luke smiling at her she suddenly realized she still had wet hair and dirty clothes on. Feeling self conscious, she added, "Anyway, sorry to barge in like this. I should probably get going. Thanks for the coffee. See you later."

"See ya," he called as she turned and walked out the door.

_-xxxxx-_

Rory woke up with a start, leaping out of bed, and searching frantically for something.

"Oh no. Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no!" she moaned as she got on her knees to look under the bed.

Feeling the empty space beside him, Jess woke up. Watching her run around the room, looking under tables and chairs, he asked incredulously, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Looking for my cell phone!" was her frantic answer.

"Why?" Jess asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Because I forgot to call my mom!"

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, uh oh. Big uh oh. Huge uh oh. Now can you help me look, please?"

"Have you checked in the car?"

"The car! Where are your keys?"

He pointed to the pair of jeans he had been wearing the previous night that were in a heap on the bathroom floor. She ran over to them, dug in the pockets until she found what she was looking for and then darted out the door, leaving Jess with an amused look on his face. She returned a minute later wearing a triumphant smile and holding a cell phone in her hand. "Found it," she stated the obvious.

Dialing as she walked, she sat down on the bed next to Jess and waited to hear the familiar voice pick up the phone.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking, how may I help you?" Lorelai had made it home, cleaned up, and gone to work, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

Smiling at the sound of her mother's voice Rory said mockingly, "My, don't we sound professional today."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. Lorelai was trying to decide if this was actually her daughter, or a fifty year old man her subconscious had turned into her daughter. When Lorelai didn't reply, she asked, "Mom? Are you there?"

Deciding it was a daughter with a little sigh of relief Lorelai spoke, "Rory? Hey! I'm glad you finally called."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was just really tired and completely forgot. I'm sorry. I hope you didn't worry too much."

"Who, me? Worry? Nah. So, how is your trip going?" Lorelai smiled to herself, thinking of the near breakdown she had almost had this morning.

"Great. We're in a little motel right now. It's nothing special, but the beds were comfortable."

"Beds? As in two, right? Two different beds with two different people in them?" Lorelai asked cautiously, scared what the answer might be.

"Yeah, exactly," Rory replied, figuring she'd rather tell a white lie than listen to her mother have a heart attack at the truth.

Hearing the relief in her voice, Lorelai said, "Oh good. I mean, not that I don't trust you or anything. I just know how you hate to share your bed with people, so I'm glad you got to have a bed to yourself. They say nothing's better than a good night's sleep, so that's great. I'm happy for you."

Trying to save her mother from any more awkward rambling, Rory quickly changed the subject. "So, anything new in the Hollow?"

"Nothing so far, but you'll be the first to know if there is."

"Well now I can sleep easy. Listen, I should probably go. We slept a little later than we meant to so we're behind schedule now. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you. Bye."

"I love you too, kid. Don't forget to call this time." They both hung up, glad to have talked to each other. Rory looked around the room, noticing that Jess was no longer sitting next to her. Hearing water running and steam coming out of the bathroom door solved the mystery and she lay back on the bed, closing her eyes.

When Jess appeared through the bathroom door looking clean and fresh, he saw that Rory had fallen fast asleep on top of the bed. He watched her sleep, noticing how peaceful and innocent she looked. Not having the heart to wake her up, he quietly left the room, locking the door behind him, and walked to the lobby from the previous night. There was a short line of people checking in and checking out. He got at the back and patiently waited for his turn. When he got to the front, he noticed there was a different person behind the counter. It was a husky woman, most likely in her late thirties. She had short blonde hair and bright green eyes. "What can I do for you, sweetie?" she asked with a false smile on her face.

"I just need to pay for the room I had last night," he told her, pulling his wallet out from the back pocket of his jeans.

"Ok, which room was it?" she asked, casually flipping through a date book.

"Um, 12," he said. When she didn't reply he quickly added, "Next to the vending machines."

"$30.14 please," she said after a few moments of silent counting in her head.

Jess opened his wallet and gave her the money telling her, "Keep the change," as he walked out the door.

He walked back to the room stopping at the vending machine to get a Kit Kat bar for her and a bag of chips for himself. He unlocked the door and went in, not bothering to knock. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was brushing her hair and struggling to pull it back into a ponytail. She broke into a smile when she saw him enter the room. "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Together, they walked hand in hand to the car. For once in his life Jess felt like everything was going to be okay from now on. Unfortunately, a lot can happen in two months.

A/N: I'm back again. Just want to apologize for any mistakes there may have been. I hope you liked it. Please R&R. : )


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